The Victory

Man....it is WAYYY too early in the morning. It better be worth it.

The Destination...

The Outcome....

The Benefit.......

The Victory......

Hey!

Where did those size 9 feet come from?

Time to go shopping for:

Shoes (Size 9!)

Bubble bath

Lotion

It's been a long four weeks, but I never heard a complaint. Good job, Sophie.

NOW. NO MORE TIP TOES - OK?

Happy Birthday Seth

What bad timing to have the flu! Right before the Christmas holidays and I had so much to do! And the flu hung on and on and on......It wasn't until I was waiting to pick my daughter up from prekindergarten and was chatting with another mom who happened to work in a Dr's office, that the truth dawned on me.

"How long does this flu last that's going around?"

"What flu?"

Uh-oh........

Here's my flu, 7 years later!

I was too fat and too old to be pregnant, but thank goodness God's in control not me!

Happy Birthday, SETH!

After 7 kids over a 30 year span, Daddy Prince Charming has these birthday parties down pat. He knows his job well!

Our family tradition is that EVERYONE gathers to celebrate the birthday kid. You need a note from your mother or a Dr's excuse to get out of these family parties! Everyone gets a party every year until they graduate from high school. When they are all grown up, we'll have attended over 180 of these parties. But hey, each one is special, especially to the birthday kid!

At 21 (or is it 22?) Cousin T is here in all his battle glory, fulfilling his duty as "the cousin who wrestles!" The kids see him and immediately go into battle -mode....

Here is the sister-who-gardens, fulfilling her duty of answering all garden related questions. Such as why do these tomatoes have these little spots on them? (It's because we caged and didn't stake, according to the expert).

Here's the condo sister with her newest child. Aggie came to play with her cousins Victoria and Muncie. They get along great! I'm sure condo sister had to put Aggie down to bed as soon as she got home. She was a tired puppy!

Here's the "smart one." (Not that the rest of us aren't smart, understand). He's already fixed Grandma's computer, now he is working on the PlayStation (or Game Cube or some such thingy-doody). I've always looked up to my big brother. He can fix anything! Plus, he's a nice guy.

Here's Seth showing off the crafting sister's gift. She and her husband made this shield and sword. The sword is made of maple. Aren't they cool? A little boy's dream come true. And yes, the big brother is EXTREMELY jealous!

The BFF/niece is looking on to see what's next!

I don't remember what it was, but it's affect was instantaneous....

He's died and gone to heaven it appears!

And, what little kid birthday is not complete without some webkins. If you have a child under 10 in your household, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Hard to believe the baby, the youngest child, the youngest grandchild is so big so fast. Just a blink of an eye, and he's so big. Another blink and he'll be all grown up, just like the rest of them.

Memories and Weeds

But they said to walk! Really, they did! The nurses said to walk so that she could practice walking on feet rather than toes....a rather novel idea for Sophie, the infamous tip-toe walker.....

But they didn't know Sophie. They didn't know that when they told her to walk and told her the more she practiced walking on her feet rather than her toes, the sooner she would see results and get those casts of that she would take them for their word and walk 2 -3 miles per day.

The result? Blisters, sores, and NEW casts. At least these are sort of creative, don't you think? And they match her skirt.

She wasn't at ALL happy about it when they told her to stay off of her feet all weekend to let the blisters and sores heal. SOOOO BORREEDDDD........

BUT THEN! God provided....in the McDonald's drive-thru.....picking up 49 cent cheeseburgers! Who should appear in my rear view mirror shouting my name? Mel-Mel-'s Mom! (Hi Laurie!).

So.....I kidnapped her daughter.........(I'll return her someday, Laurie, don't worry!)

Sophie was SOOO excited! So, in the last 24 hours, Laurie, we have introduced your daughter to Wii Fit.......



After you ever seen 3 tweens more engrossed in exercise?


Look at that concentration on that girl's face!

Sophie's in charge, cracking the electronic whip. Stretch Mel! STREtch!

Unfortunately all that hard exercise makes for some hungry kids. So, Laurie, we took your daughter to Steak and Shake for supper, Mrs. Curls for dessert (I think she had a large twist cone), Panera bagels for breakfast (with Hazelnut cream cheese), and NOW they are making cookies.... But hey, what 10 year old little girl sleepover is complete without a homemade batch of cookies?


The cookies are in the oven right now. I didn't stay there with them while they mixed up the batch...I figured it was time for them to follow a recipe and fly on their own. BUT, they decided to add some left over hazelnut coffee (ummm...did I tell you, Laurie, that I let them have coffee this morning? After only 1 hour of sleep last night I thought they might need it...), and hazelnut creamer, and hazelnut extract. I'm kind of worried about these cookies, they are really liquidity and aren't thickening up at all....ummmm....wonder why?

Oh, well...that's how they learn. They are having fun and making memories. That's what counts.

Meanwhile, some weed fairies have invaded my garden and in one night have completely taken over! (hee, hee!) I thought that when my sister said to EMBRACE THE WEEDS, she meant to learn to live with them. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it).

What a mess! Are there any vegetables in there? Please?












Ahhh....love the Zinnia's!

Ahhh!!! Green Beans! I knew there was something under all those weeds!

Hope everyone is having a great summer and making lots of sweet memories!

"HUGS"

Flying Dogs

You know you're burning both ends when you get to a friend of a friend of a friend's fireworks show and find out (after you've been there an hour) that you have on two different shoes......

So, in honor of de-stressing and due to brain fade everywhere after the wild long fourth of July holiday, I'm posting totally silly pictures of Victoria flying through the air.

And...she's off...

She flies through the air with the greatest of ease....

that daring young dog....

OK. Muncie is getting bored with it all.

Such silliness....

But I feel much more relaxed now, don't you?

What Happens When....

What Happens When....

You put together a 6 year old boy, his big brother and a bicycle...

Congratulations, Seth!

Welcome to the world of bikes!

What Happens When.......

You put a 12 year old boy and a 6 month old puppy together.......

They bond.

What Happens When.....

A ten year old spends nine years walking on her tip-toes.....

I'm so sorry, honey!

But they look nice!

Kinda.......Sorta.........

Happy 4th of July to you and yours everyone. Celebrate the freedoms we have to ride bikes, cuddle with dogs, and to be able to get the health care we need for our children, ourselves, and our parents.